Bear activity prompts hard-sided camping at St. Mary

St. Mary Campground on the east side of Glacier National Park, is temporarily available to hard-sided camping only due to bear activity. The hiker/biker sites also will be temporarily unavailable at this campground due to the change.

In late summer and fall, bears enter hyperphagia, which is a period of excessive eating and drinking to prepare for winter. This results in more active feeding and searching for food. Environmental conditions this summer are more stressful than average as extremely dry conditions persist, park officials said.

The campground typically sees an abundance of berries in late summer. The last time the campground was moved to hard-sided only status due to bear activity was in late August 2015.

No incidents between humans and bears have been reported in the campground year to date.

Recreational vehicles, motor-homes, trailers and hard-sided pop-ups currently are allowed in St. Mary Campground. Camper vehicles such as VW buses and pickup trucks with small canvas pop-ups are allowed as long as the canvas is not exposed.

Campground managers will contact campers with upcoming reservations to re-assign them to another campground in the park if they do not have a hard-sided shelter.

For updated information about campgrounds and campground status, visit http://home.nps.gov/applications/glac/cgstatus/cgstatus.cfm or contact the park at 406-888-7800.